A staggering 234,989 cases of cyber fraud were reported in Haryana in less than five years, averaging about 4,000 cases per month. The escalating law and order issues, coupled with a sharp rise in crime, have sparked a heated debate between ruling and opposition parties in both the assembly and public discourse. The state police, facing an unprecedented surge in cybercrime incidents over the past few months, appears to be grappling with the situation. The Mewat area of Haryana has gained notoriety as the second Jamtara in the country due to the rising incidents of cybercrime. Statistics presented on the first day of the winter assembly session reveal an alarming eleven-fold increase in cybercrime cases in Haryana over five years, underscoring the severity of the situation.
In the year 2019, as many as 9900 incidents of cyber crimes reported in Haryana, whereas in the year 2023, more than one lakh cases of cyber fraud have been reported in a period of less than a year which has forced the police department to come up with continuous raids following the inputs related to cyber fraud in different areas. . Based on the input received, cyber crime hotspot areas were identified and raided simultaneously with heavy police force. Further, the statistics depicted the worsening scenario that as many 234983 cases of cyber fraud have been reported in a period of about 59 months from the year 2019 till December 8, 2023. In this context, about 4 thousand cases of cyber fraud are being reported every month and 100 to 150 cases a day in Haryana, which need to be curbed. In Haryana, 9900 cases surfaced in 2019 were increased to 20440 cases in the year 2020. Further, 29810 cases of cyber fraud were reported in the year 2021 followed by 66784 and 108055 cases of cyber fraud in the year 2023 and 2023 so far respectively due to which the concern and responsibility of the police department also increased. At the same time, 108055 cases have been reported so far in the year 2023, which clearly shows the worsening situation. It is evident from the data that in a period of less than five years, the cases of cyber fraud in Haryana have increased by 11 times. It is pertinent to mention that Gurugram district of Haryana, adjacent to the national capital Delhi, emerges as haven for the cyber criminals The situation is that out of the total 234983 incidents reported in Haryana, 87382 have occurred in the district amounting to 37 percent of the total incidents of cyber crime reported in Gurugram alone. The graph of cyber crime incidents has increased rapidly in Gurugram. as a total of 8623 cases of cyber crime were reported in Gurugram in the year 2019. Further 11880 cases in 2021, 14450 in 2021, 20852 in 2022 and 31647 cases r till 8 December 2023, reported so far witnessing around 10 times increases in fresh cases. The data tabled in the House has revealed that till now the police have registered 4519 cases regarding cyber crime along with the arrest of 2785 accused. Taking cognizance of incidents of cyber crime, the state Police itself has considered 133 cases involving online fraud more than 5 lakh on priority basis for investigation. Notably, as many as 521778 people called the emergency helpline number 1930 seeking help or any kind of information regarding cyber crime incidents and cases. In a bid to tighten the noose around the neck of cyber criminals, as many as 496562 mobile numbers have also been blocked under the ASTR system in Mewat region. At the same time, 89446 mobile numbers and 158102 account numbers of fraudsters were blocked. Apart from this, officers and employees have also been trained under the training program to deal with cyber fraud.
